Patent Grant
8690420
The present invention concerns a mechanical watch movement having a mechanical chronograph with a regulator organ for regulating the running of the chronograph.
Mechanical watches usually comprise a regulator organ composed of an flywheel, called balance, on the axis of which a hairspring, called spiral, is fastened. The balance wheel and hairspring combination oscillates around its position of equilibrium at a frequency that depends notably on the rigidity of the spiral and on the moment of inertia of the balance.
Known balances are constituted of an annular mass, the felloe, held by one or two arms. Taking into account the available energy, balances have a great moment of inertia for a low mass; this means that their diameter is as large as the available space allows and that the mass is concentrated at the periphery in the felloe. This moment of inertia can furthermore be modified to set the watch, either manually by means of screws, or automatically in the case of bi-metal balances that deform with temperature. However, involuntary deformations of the balance, for example due to dilatations, affect negatively the running of the watch.
In other words, the balance serves as flywheel and compensates for the lack of energy stored in the spiral during deformation. However, the balance causes many disturbances, due to inaccuracies of its inertia during manufacture, to dilatations, etc.
A given balance coupled with a given spiral oscillates at a determined frequency. The number of beats per time unit determines the time resolution of the regulator organ. For example, a mechanical watch displaying the seconds o f the current time must include a regulator organ performing at least 3,600 beats per hour. In practice, conventional regulator organs perform 28,800 or sometimes 36,000 beats per hour, which makes it possible to measure time with a resolution of 0.125 resp. 0.1 second.
By increasing the oscillation frequency, the time resolution is improved, which allows shorter time intervals to be measured. An improved time resolution is useful in particular for chronographs, for which a time resolution of a hundredth of a second is sometimes desired. A high oscillation frequency, however, generates considerable energy losses, notably regarding the escapement, which reduces the watch's power reserve. For this reason, the chosen oscillation frequency is usually a trade-off between the constraints imposed by the chronograph's resolution and the will to maintain a power reserve as high as possible for displaying the current time.
Conventional chronograph watches take the energy necessary for the chronograph's operation from the cinematic chain connecting the barrel to the regulator organ and to the indicators of the watch. Consequently, the running of the watch is disrupted when the chronograph is started.
Patent application WO03/065130 in the name of TAG Heuer SA and whose contents is incorporated by reference discloses a construction in which a base movement designed to display the current time is provided with a first barrel and a first regulator organ performing 28,800 beats per hour, whilst an auxiliary chronograph module is provided with a second barrel and a second regulator organ performing 360,000 beats per hour. This construction allows a chronograph to be made that is capable of measuring time with a resolution to the hundredth of a second without affecting the power reserve of the base movement used for displaying the current time. Furthermore, as the two cinematic chains are independent, starting the chronograph does not affect the accuracy of the base movement or the running of the watch. This solution has been implemented in the “Calibre 360” of TAG Heuer, thus demonstrating the technical feasibility of this solution.
Regulator organs for regulating the running of known chronographs are generally placed at the periphery of the movement, i.e. in an imaginary circle coaxial to the movement and of a diameter greater than 50% or even 70% of the maximum outer diameter of the movement. They are generally placed at 7 o'clock. In this manner, the movement's escapement comprises a pallet wheel that drives the hand at the centre, for example the seconds' hand or the tenth of a second's hand or the hundredth of a second's hand through a rather long gear chain, comprising several wheels and mobiles, which increases the energy loss.
One aim of the present invention is to propose a mechanical watch movement including a mechanical chronograph with a regulator organ that allows the length of the gear chain between the central hand and the pallet wheel to be reduced.
According to the invention, these aims are achieved notably by means of a mechanical watch movement having the characteristics of the main claim and of a mechanical chronograph including such a movement.
The mechanical watch movement according to the invention comprises a mechanical chronograph with a regulator organ for regulating the running of the chronograph, and it is characterized in that the chronograph's regulator organ is placed in an imaginary circle coaxial to the movement and having a radius smaller than 50% of the maximum outer radius of the movement.
This solution affords notably the advantage over the prior art of reducing the length of the gear chain between the central hand and the pallet wheel.
Examples of embodiments of the invention are indicated in the description illustrated by the attached figures in which:
An embodiment of the regulator organ is illustrated in
The power reserve of the second barrel, which indicates the duration that can still be measured with the stopwatch before the second barrel needs to be recharged, is preferably indicated on the dial by means of a power reserve indicator of the chronograph. The power reserve of the first barrel charging the first regulator organ used for displaying the current time is advantageously indicated separately on the dial by means of a power reserve indicator of the watch. Both barrels can preferably be charged simultaneously by means of a common wind-up stem engaging on both barrels and/or by means of a common oscillating mass. In another embodiment, the first barrel is wound up automatically and the second manually. In one embodiment, both barrels can be wound up separately by means of two distinct wind-up stems and/or oscillating masses. In another embodiment, one of the barrels (for example the chronograph barrel) is charged by the other barrel that is wound up manually or automatically; the available energy is then distributed between the two barrels.
The illustrated regulator comprises a spiral 1 mounted using a collet 5 on a spiral staff 2. The regulator organ lacks a balance. According to the example, the chronograph's regulator organ is dimensioned so as to oscillate at frequencies never achieved previously, preferably at a frequency of 3,600,000 beats per hour, i.e. 500 Hz.
In order to achieve these high frequencies, the regulator organ comprises notably a staff 2 designed to turn between two bearings, not represented, when the spiral 1 winds and unwinds. A roller 4 mounted on this staff bears the impulse pin 40 that works together with the horns 60, 65 and with the guard pin 61 of an pallet 6 represented in
The roller 4 is advantageously made of silicon or ceramics or of another material with a lower density than that of the staff 2 in order to reduce its moment of inertia. It is advantageously made of two discs: the large roller 42 and the small roller 43, connected to one another by an hour's wheel 45. The small roller can comprise a notch 430 for the guard pin. A simple roller, with a single disc, can also be used.
The staff 2 also bears a driven or glued hub 3 that serves to offer a resting surface for the whip 72 of the launcher, described further below in relation with
Contrary to a balance, the hub 3 lacks spokes; its mass is thus concentrated close to the center, so as to reduce its moment of inertia. The hub 3 is advantageously made of silicon or of another material with a density lower than that of the staff 2, in order to reduce its moment of inertia. In a variant embodiment, the hub is made of titanium and/or aluminum and/or of an alloy containing at least one of these materials.
Blind holes 30 in a plane perpendicular to the staff 2 allow this hub 3 to be made even lighter. Through holes or blind holes in another direction, including holes going through the hub in parallel to the staff or along any direction, can also be used to make the hub 3 lighter. It is also possible to make the hub 3 lighter by making it with a lighter core covered with a more resistant coating onto which the whip 72 of the launcher can give an impulsion without deforming the hub 3.
In the same manner, it is also possible to make the roller 4 lighter by providing through holes or blind holes or by giving it a non-circular shape, with the aim of reducing its moment of inertia.
The regulator organ lacks a balance; adjusting it is thus achieved only with the index-assembly of the spiral 1, advantageously by adjusting the length of the oscillating portion of the spiral by means of a screw perpendicular to the plate and allowing the point at which the outer extremity of the spiral is fastened onto the bottom plate or on a bridge to be adjusted. This system allows a very accurate adjustment of the spiral's length but other known types of regulating means are applicable to the spiral.
The diameter of the hub 3 is reduced as much as possible, again with the aim of reducing its moment of inertia. In a preferred embodiment, the diameter of the hub 3 is comprised between 1.5 and 10 times the maximum diameter of the staff 2, for example between 5 and 6 times the diameter of the staff 2. In the illustrated example, the outer diameter of the hub 3 is identical to the outer diameter of the roller 4. If a greater resting surface for the launcher 7 is required, it would be possible to use a hub 3 slightly greater than the roller 4, with its diameter however preferably not exceeding the double of the maximum diameter of the large roller 42.
Contrary to a regulator organ comprising a balance, which contributes a potential and cinematic energy considerably greater than that of the staff 2, the potential and kinetic energy accumulated by the hub 3 is lower than that which is accumulated by the staff 2 at each beat, being preferably negligible relative to that of the staff 2.
The hub 3 can also constitute an integral part of the staff 2. In a variant embodiment, the hub 3 and the roller 4 are integrated within a single element, for example made by profile-turning, which bears the impulse pin 40 and on which rests the launcher 7. In another embodiment, the collet is also integrated within this element. This element can advantageously made of titanium and/or aluminum and/or of an alloy containing at least one of these materials.
The collet 5 allows the inner extremity of the spiral 1 to be held on the staff 2. It is advantageously made in the form of a circular disc of which two or several segments are truncated in order to make it lighter and to reduce its moment of inertia. A notch 50 in the side of the collet 5 allows the spiral to be fastened. The maximum diameter of the collet is preferably of the same order of magnitude as the maximum diameter of the roller and of the hub. For example, the diameter of the hub 3 can be comprised between 1 and 3 times the maximum diameter of the collet 5.
The spiral 1 can be made of metal, preferably of invar, of silicon, of diamond, of corundum or of any suitable material. Advantageously, the spiral is considerably stiffer than a conventional spiral and thus exerts a return torque towards the resting position considerably greater than a classical spiral. The stiffness (or rigidity) of the spiral is given by the formula:
C=M/φ
A high rigidity necessary for a beat at 500 Hz can be achieved by combining at least two of the following measures:
The ratio (e3·h)/l, with e being the thickness of the spiral, h its height and l its length, is about 30 times greater than the same ratio of a conventional spiral.
The spiral is advantageously constituted by a perfect Archimedes spiral, which is favorable to isochronism. By reason of its rigidity and its short length, it practically does not deform under the effect of gravity, so that the Philips terminal curves can be unnecessary or even disadvantageous. Its rigidity also rends it less sensitive to perturbations dues to magnetostriction. Furthermore, a rigid spring has the effect of increasing the frequency of the oscillations and to reduce their amplitude, which allows it to operate in a reduced range of oscillations favorable to isochronism. Oscillations of a reduced amplitude, in other words, afford the watch a higher accuracy. Since the spiral's oscillations are practically isochronous, using a coating, for example of silicon oxide, is no longer necessary.
The stiffness of the spiral gives it an efficient geometric stability: the spiral therefore hardly deforms in the different planes in space. Thus, this stiff spring advantageously has major static and dynamic stability relative to the conventional spirals at 3-5 Hz. The spiral's stiffness also makes it non self-starting, unlike the conventional balance-hairspring regulator organs.
The oscillation frequency of the classic balance wheel and hairspring combinations used in watchmaking can be determined with the aid of the known formula:
This frequency is thus inversely proportional to the square root of the moment of inertia I of the balance.
In the state of the art, the moment of inertia I of the rotating parts of the regulator organ is determined almost exclusively by the felloe, which constitutes approximately a portion of hollow cylinder.
From which can be deduced:
The equations 2) and 3) however cannot be applied to the regulator organ of the invention, since this organ lacks a balance. According to the invention, the regulator organ is thus sized by integrating into the equation 1) here above a moment of inertia I calculated taking into account elements that are traditionally neglected in the prior art, notably by integrating into the calculation of the moment of inertia I the moments of inertia of the staff 2, of the roller 4, of the hub 3 and of the spiral 1 itself, which yields an approximation for the oscillation frequency.
The moment of inertia of the spiral 1 varies however during each cycle when the spiral deforms, so that applying the above formula yields only an approximation. In practice, a regulator organ oscillating at the desired frequency is achieved using the formula 1) here above, I being approximated by adding the inertia mass of all the rotating parts. An adjustment is then achieved by successive approximations by modifying the length of the portion of the spiral 1 that can vibrate using a cock, a regulator with a screw on top, or another regulating element, not represented.
Prototypes have been made with regulator organs capable of performing 500 beats per second, which makes it possible to measure durations timed with a resolution of the thousandth of a second. It is thus possible to make a mechanical chronometer at 500 Hz or to the thousandth of a second.
Consequently, according to an independent characteristic of the invention, and as illustrated in
In order to be able to move quickly, the pallet 6 is preferably made of a material lighter than steel, for example silicon. Through holes 64 allow it to be made even lighter. The guard pin 61 is constituted by a bridge joining the two horns 60 and 65 but less thick than these horns and than the rest of the pallet. The extremity of the guard pin 61 opposite the center of the pallet is pointed in order to work together with the impulse pin 40.
The regulator organ illustrated in the figures is advantageously used as independent regulator organ for a chronograph, in order to regulate the running of a chronograph hand at the center of the movement. For example, this regulator organ can drive a hand at the centre of the dial displaying the thousandths of a second of a duration measured by a stopwatch, and which runs through 100 graduations on the periphery of the dial within a tenth of a second.
In order to avoid any play and loss of energy, the regulator organ is preferably placed unusually very close to the center of the watch movement, which makes it possible to drive the hand at the center directly or at least through a gear chain as short as possible, for example a gear chain comprising a single wheel to invert the direction of rotation given by the pallet wheel. Preferably, the staff 2 of the spiral is located in an imaginary circle A coaxial to the movement and having a radius r1 lower than 50% of the maximum outer radius r3 of the movement, as illustrated in
The regulator organ of the chronograph is generally placed closer to the center 108 than the regulator organ for regulating the running of the watch.
In a variant embodiment, the pallet wheel 8 is arranged to directly drive the hand at the center 108 of the dial. In another embodiment, the pallet wheel 8 is arranged to drive the hand at the center through a gear chain comprising a single mobile for inverting the direction of rotation given by this pallet wheel 8.
The chronograph hand, for example the hundredth or thousandth of a second's hand, thus accelerated can deform in the manner of a fishing rod during accelerations, which compromises the reading during displacement. In order to limit the extent of these deformations, the hand is advantageously ribbed and/or profiled to make it more rigid. The hand can also be replaced by a disc.
The push-button 75, in a preferred embodiment, allows the user to implement the two functions START and STOP. Another push-button, not represented, allows a re-setting to zero.
When the user actuates the function STOP, it allows the launcher to climb on one of the columns of the column wheel 74. When the function STOP is actuated, the launcher spring 71 allows the launcher 7 to fall in the space between two columns of the column wheel 74 and simultaneously to give the whip 72 a speed that enables the hub or the barrel to be accelerated.
Advantageously, the blade 73 comprises a hook 730 that is designed to work together with the column wheel 74. In a variant embodiment, the blade and the hook constitute a single part that is rather difficult to manufacture but allows a reduction of the number of parts. In another variant embodiment, the hook 730 is a part distinct from the blade 73 and connected to it for example through a screw, which makes manufacture easier.
In the variant embodiment illustrated, the dial 100 comprises two other small dials or displays: the dial 104 counting the minutes, preferably placed at 3 o'clock, and the dial 106 counting the seconds and the tenths of a second, preferably placed at 6 o'clock. In another variant, not illustrated, the dial comprises three small dials: a dial for counting minutes, preferably placed at 12 o'clock, a dial for counting seconds, preferably placed at 3 o'clock and a third dial for counting the tenths of a second, preferably placed at 6 o'clock. Any other arrangement of these small dials or displays is at all possible.
In another variant embodiment, the dial 100 comprises only a small dial for the tenths of a second, preferably placed at 6 o'clock. The dial for counting the seconds and the minutes in this case has its center corresponding to the center 108 of the dial 100 and has a radius lower than the radius of the dial 100. There will therefore be two concentric scales, one of the thousandths and the hundredths of a second (scale 102) and the other for the measured minutes and the seconds.
As discussed, the power reserve of the second barrel, which indicates the duration that can still be measured before the second barrel needs to be recharged, is preferably indicated on the dial 100 by means of a power reserve indicator of the chronograph, not illustrated. The power reserve of the first barrel charging the first regulator organ used for displaying the current time is advantageously indicated separately on the dial by means of a power reserve indicator of the watch, not illustrated.
The hands for the hours, minutes and possibly seconds of the watch are placed at the center 108 of the dial. A display of the small seconds can also be provided on the dial 100 as well as an indication of the date or of other information.
The regulator organ of the invention is also distinguished from the prior art regulator organs by the noise produced, which is different from the noise of the watch; by reason of the higher oscillation frequency, the usual tic-tac is replaced by a high frequency buzzing, with a main harmonic at 500 Hz and secondary harmonics at multiples of 500 Hz. This very characteristic and very perceptible buzzing allows the user to detect by ear that the chronograph is working and thus avoid an undesirable discharging of the chronograph's barrel if the chronograph is started inadvertently or if one forgets to stop it. The distinct and characteristic noise of the regulator organ of the chronograph is thus used as a signal indicating that the chronograph is functioning. The watch case can advantageously comprise elements, for example vents or a resonating cage, in order to amplify this useful noise.
In another variant embodiment, the spiral of the regulator organ according to the invention is replaced by a magnetic recall organ.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2464316 | Jeanneret | Mar 1949 | A |
| 7905655 | Jolidon | Mar 2011 | B2 |
| 8113707 | Jolidon | Feb 2012 | B2 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| WO 03065130 | Aug 2003 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20120243386 A1 | Sep 2012 | US |
